OLYMPIA -- Washington lobbyists might be picking up the tab on too many steak dinners and sushi plates in Olympia.

The Legislative Ethics Board reviewed this complaint Tuesday after a 2013 report done by the Associated Press and Northwest Public Radio revealed the high number of free meals certain lawmakers received last year.

Current Washington law allows state politicians to receive “infrequent” meals from lobbyists, and does not go into precise detail about what “infrequent” means. The investigation by the Associated Press and Northwest Public Radio showed that, among other details, Sen. Doug Ericksen, R-Ferndale, received more than 60 meals in the first four months of 2013. Their combined worth was more than $2,000.

Former Olympia Mayor Bob Jacobs spoke at the ethics board hearing about some of the pitfalls of accepting free meals.

“When I’m meeting someone to talk about city policies do I accept a cup of coffee?” Jacobs said. “Is that going to influence me? I don’t think so. But you know, it could. You can’t help but feel a little warm to the people who are buying you a cup of coffee. So I decided it was best to accept nothing and just keep it clean.”

Members of the ethics board discussed crafting a more concrete definition of “infrequent” and the possibility of implementing a policy tracking how many meals lawmakers accept.

The board’s lawmakers and other public officials will spend the next few months developing proposals, which will be made public in June.

Oregon law does not restrict how often lobbyists pay for lawmakers’ meals. Legislators are, however, not allowed to accept more than $50 worth of “gifts” from a single person with legislative interests over the course of one calendar year, which limits the number of meals any one lawmaker can receive from any one lobbyist.